Mother’s Day Collection interview with Jenelle Gartner
Photo by Andrea Hanki Photography
Getting to know Jenelle
Graphic Designer & Owner of J. Gartner Studio Inc.
FW: Give us a glimpse into your career and how it looked in the years leading up to the pandemic?
Jenelle: I have always envisioned myself as an entrepreneur. After graduating from the UofA Bachelor of Design I had a couple of great jobs as a designer, but knew I needed to start a business to achieve the lifestyle I aimed to have as a mother. I started Pinkpolka Invitations & Stationery in 2009, which specialized in wedding stationery, which eventually evolved into J.Gartner Studio Inc. The breath of my work was moving towards corporate events and design so the change in self-branding better represented myself and my work. I am still operating J.Gartner Studio Inc., although it has been greatly affected by the pandemic (see more description about that below)!
FW: Can you summarize what your journey into motherhood looked like?
Jenelle: I was never the "mothering” type. I didn’t really play with dolls or dream of having babies. Truthfully, I actually didn’t like babies and thought they seemed like aliens. Being an only child, I wasn’t around many babies or young children. I knew I wanted a family, but couldn’t picture what that looked like in the beginning stages.
The path becoming a mother was challenging for me. The fear of the unknown was a lot for my A-type personally to handle. I also had spent 4 years prior to my first child building a business that I considered “my baby”. For the first 5 years of motherhood, I juggled a business, running a home and 2 kids with a matrix of different childcare options. It felt like every month I would change my mind as to what I wanted. I wanted to work more and grow my business, but then I missed my kids and only wanted to work part-time. It was an emotional time for me trying to let go of my old self and adjusting to my new role and responsibilities as a mother and head of a household.
I did however go through a transformational time in my life when I was pregnant with my third daughter. I let go of what I thought career success looked like and embraced giving myself to the service of my family. I was so much happier and content working less and focusing on raising my kids. It seemed like I was becoming what I dreaded and avoided for the first part of my motherhood journey - a mother! I felt like just being a mom was a failure and wasn’t enough for me. Now I realize that being a mother is the most important and meaningful part of my life.
FW: What does your current work/life situation look like balancing roles of mother and designer?
Jenelle: My design studio specializes in event branding and graphics so I loss any of the contracts I had when covid shut down the economy in March 2020. I’ve been working on a couple of small projects, but am still the primary caregiver to my 3 daughters who have been rotating through online, in person, and home schooling.
FW: What inspired your Mother’s Day graphic?
Jenelle: My graphic developed from a few other ideas as I was playing around with type and the different names used for mothers. My youngest, who is almost 2, has a limited vocabulary and heavily relies on me to meet her needs. Often she will repeat my name “mama” over and over again until she gets what she wants. As such, my graphic was born with “mama” repeated over and over and over again!
Parenting through the pandemic
FW: What does a typical day for you look like right now?
Jenelle: Right now my life can change day to day. With the pandemic my 9 and 7 year old have been doing a combination of in-person and home schooling. If they are home the first part of my day might include helping them get into the Google classroom and print some pages, submit some assignments and assist with any questions.
I’ll usually take the youngest out for a run in the chariot and then have a late breakfast/lunch before putting her to bed for a nap. Nap time is for work or reno planning. We’ve been renovating our 1960’s home and there has been a lot of design and project management work. After nap I would pick-up the older girls (if they are in school) and then we would come home and get ready for dinner or drive my 7 year old to gymnastics (she goes 11 hours a week for competitive gymnastics). Then it’s dinner and the bedtime routine. Get up and do it all over again!
FW: What are the best and worst pieces of advice you’ve gotten as a working mother?
Jenelle: I can’t actually recall any advice at the current moment. I do remember feeling very overwhelmed by the amount of baby talk with my first two children. As a working mother I was still very engaged with the “outside” world and found it very boring and unstimulating to be discussing babies when I was with my babies ALL the TIME. I really had to go through the process to know what I wanted and what worked for me. I actually enjoyed socializing with friends that didn’t have children because it was a great escape from not talking about babies!
FW: How have you managed balancing your workload in a time when childcare has been sometimes unavailable or sporadic?
Jenelle: Childcare has been the most challenging part of being a parent. Knowing what was the right option, who to trust taking care of your kids, and the financial impacts were all factors that caused stress. Running a business didn’t guarantee me a paycheck so it was hard to justify childcare expenses if I didn’t always know how much I would be making in revenue. I played the game of how much I would have to work to make it worthwhile to pay for childcare. I went back and forth with full and part time childcare options depending on my work flow and income. When I did have work and lots of it, I would have to find uninterrupted times to work and be creative while running a household. My husband has a demanding career that supports our family and works long hours so I was left piecing together childcare by myself if I needed more time to work. Saying all this, it was stressful!
FW: What supports and/or resources have made it possible for you to take on both career and child-rearing responsibilities?
Jenelle: My major source of support has been my husband. I honestly owe it to him for providing me the freedom and flexibility to run a business while being a mother. My business income was not only variable but also too small to support our family lifestyle. His commitment to provide a healthy and stable income is the reason I was able to take a step back from my work when necessary.
I also rely heavily on my parents and mother-in-law. My husband and I are both only children and our parents are very involved with our children. Having these relationships not only benefits my children, but also gives my husband and I the time and space to tend to our adult responsibilities and our relationship.
FW: What have been some of the biggest challenges or changes to your work life since the start of the pandemic?
Jenelle: Uncertainly of what lies ahead for my business. Because I specialized in events I’m not sure the recovery for that industry will come in the near future. I am fortunate to be in a position that my husband supports our family financially, but will need to make a decision if I will continue freelancing by targeting new industries or explore employment options or starting a new career all together.
FW: Has the pandemic impacted how you parent your child/ren?
Jenelle: Yes! Without having work I’ve been so much more patience and attentive to my children’s needs and emotions. I’ve also had time to be outside with them more and take time to engage with actives and crafts they love doing together.
FW: How have the demands of motherhood impacted your career?
Jenelle: It took awhile, but as mentioned above, I had to let go of what I thought my career/business should be and make room for being a mother. Doing so made me realize that I didn’t need to work all the time or grow my business to fulfill my ego. In turn, I’ve decided over the last few years to work less and focus on raising my girls.
FW: Has the pandemic positively impacted your career/life in any way?
Jenelle: Amongst the stress and uncertainly the pandemic has created in many of our lives, there was actually many positives that emerged for me over the last year. I found the time and space to reconnected with my kids. I Relished in the simple experiences and activities around our home and neighbourhood.
FW: If you had to pick, what would be the biggest thing mothering through the pandemic has changed your perspective on?
Jenelle: The biggest takeaway from the pandemic is to slow down and embrace what is and not what you thought should be. With the slowness of life our family has found more time to connect with the simple things in life.